| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm not in a rush. I expect to be playing PF1 Core for years to come. And I would happily run for Doodlevain again.
Search Posts
andreww posted an interest check for a Core Seeker Arc, but there seemed to be a lack of eligible PCs. I would very much like to have the opportunity to play my Core Rog12 in this, so I am looking to get some other Core PCs who are close up to that point of 33 XP. Who has Core PCs that are close, and how many XP away are they? I'd probably look to run an early-season 7-11 scenario in high tier.
PM me the changes, I went in and added the boons to the Core reporting. Thanks for the fix - game successfully reported on the site.
Sadly, no.
I will reissue today. Thought I had posted earlier- Khellek's Chronicle is fixed.
I will need the Boon Won field fixed on the PF1 Core reporting page before I can report the game. Or I can just PM you the information.
I'm not getting any options in the drop-down for boons won, so it won't let me save the report. I had two players and myself (the GM) win player boons. It looks like the reporting page for the Core campaign does not include the drop-down for boon selection because if I go to the regular PF1 link I see those options.
I will reissue today.
Game over. Chronicles to come.
Okay, that's it. This game is over. I will issue Chronicles, and you will get full gold, but I have no interest in Sylvester telling others what to do. This game has become really unpleasant for me as a GM. Game over. Chronicles to come.
@Sylvester - not very well. Maybe the first creature nearest the door.
Khellek recalls this from the mission briefing (the Knowledge check): "Each stele has the ability to contact its sister steles. As long as the runes are intact at both sites, one can merely call out the desired Citadel’s name. If this is done properly, one can talk to the contacted stele as if that stele were the monument before them." So, as he approaches and calls out Janderhoff, the Janderhoff stele responds. A slow, deep voice resonates from the stele, giving an ancient Dwarven greeting and saying (in Dwarven) I am the Janderhoff stele. Also from the mission briefing (Canayven Heidmarch's direction): "If it is still intact and functional, activate it and see what else you can learn of dwarven history. I suspect that you will also be able to use the stone to signal Janderhoff. I will be there awaiting that signal, at which point I’ll coordinate your extraction from hostile territory." So, as soon as you contact Janderhoff (which you decided to do right away), the Society begins the extraction process. You got the process right, but picked the wrong target. Might not make a big difference. Sandricaan and others are coming to your location the stele replies. But before they can get there...
They are drawn to the still-intact metal in the room and are moving quickly towards it. Initiative:
Round 1
Try to do something to activate the stele.
@Fethril - no, that seems unlikely to work.
The dwarf's corpse crumbles to dust as Doodle disturbs it.
@Sylvester - no, I don't believe so. It does not use the Ritual rules. @Khellek - Comprehend Languages is still running, so you can read the Dwarven runes on the stele. And I'll assume for the sake of RP that there are some runes to be read on the sixteen thrones... but the stele is the real mission goal, and this place is unstable as you may recall. The runes on the Stele say "Dongun Hold, Highhelm, Janderhoff, Koldukar, Kraggodan, Kravenkus" - locations of both active and ruined Sky Citadels - as well as "Jormurdun," a name that Khellek does not know.
Khellek can tell by the remnants of the dwarf's attire that this was one of the councilors of city of Koldukar. As there are sixteen thrones, Khellek can reasonably deduce that the full Council consisted of sixteen dwarves - likely clan leaders, high priests, generals, and other important figures. No other remains are present.
Stormy leads the way up the stairs.
A kingly statue overlooks this chamber from atop a balcony and extends a mighty arm that terminates in a clenched fist. Eight metallic columns, each magnificently carved with dwarven figures, support the forty-foot vaulted ceiling. Gold-plated bannisters run along either side of the stairs, and etched bronze and brass wall tiles depict the tale of Koldukar’s founding. Along the upper level sit sixteen ornate thrones, one of which bears the withered remains of a stately male dwarf. Naturally someone casts Detect Magic. There is a magical belt on the withered dwarf corpse. Do you take it? On the other side of the walkway you see your goal. An ancient stele stands at the rear of this circular antechamber. The stone monument depicts a heavily stylized map of the Inner Sea Region. The map bears no visible scale, and many of its details have eroded with the passage of time. Seven distinct runes are discernible on the stele’s pockmarked surface. Detect Magic here reveals an overwhelming aura of Divination magic.
I recommend we close those doors and rest up before continuing. If anyone attempts to carry out Stormy's idea, they find that the doors (the "iron" riddle doors) are stuck in the open position. Very, very firmly stuck. Plot-device stuck. The next level is about 10' up. The elephant cannot just step up there, nor can it use the stairs.
There is now a Huge elephant in the hall under Khellek's control.
Sylvester does not know anything about the Clay Golem's abilities. Khellek knows that its Cursed Wound ability makes the injuries that it deals particularly difficult to heal with magic.
Among the chamber’s many statues of all sizes is a marble elephant Figurine of Wondrous Power.
Grog pounds on the golem.
Stormy comes in with her club, dealing enough damage to finish it off. Combat Over
Khellek fails to heal Grog's wounds.
It is determined to provide something of a challenge, or at least an inconvenience. Round 2 - active buffs Bless, Inspire Courage, and Haste
Grog finishes off one golem and then hits the other.
Fethril is up.
Those without Heroism have +1 morale to hit (Bless from Fethril).
Stormy manages to hit the golem three times, but it is still moving.
If that is how you wish to interpret it.
@Sylvester - golems used to have near-immunity to all magic, even including no-SR spells and (Su) abilities, and then WotC nerfed that hard in the 3.5 change. So with their whopping +3 Reflex and +4 Will (which pretty much weren't needed back when they were actually immune to magic), it is now trivial to neutralize them. Makes using them rather pointless. (Unless the author feels that Glitterdust isn't used enough in PFS and needs a chance to shine.)
Both fall prone.
Both golems are blinded.
Stormy and Grog both hit a golem. The golem retaliates at Stormy.
If an invisible creature strikes a character, the character struck knows the location of the creature that struck him (until, of course, the invisible creature moves). The only exception is if the invisible creature has a reach greater than 5 feet. In this case, the struck character knows the general location of the creature but has not pinpointed the exact location. This is how I will run its ability to target the right squares.
The golem flails at Stormy, but she dodges twice. The other golem knows where you all were, but not where you are.
It lumbers forward, bumping into Grog. Both Golems attempt to shake off the Glitterdust.
Round 2 - active buffs Bless, Inspire Courage, and Haste
As you fail to respond, the golems start moving to attack.
Round 1
Khellek: The riddle is referenced in some of the very oldest known Dwarven texts, but the answer is not. Whatever answer there once was has been lost to the ages. The riddle is impossible to answer.
Khellek: These are variant Clay Golems, although they seem a bit decayed by the passage of time. They have enough metal that they would be affected by rusting attacks. They have DR 10/Bludgeoning and Adamantine; the ability to Haste themselves; and near-immunity to magic. Spells that ignore SR should work, except that acid attacks heal them. Also, the wounds they inflict are difficult to heal.
As Doodle approaches the staircase, two of the larger statues turn their heads to look at her.
They speak in a grinding voice:
Dwarven: "Speak to us the riddle of stone."
Please move yourselves on the map. Nothing happens as you immediately cross the threshold...
You cast it after the three-hour journey through the tunnels? Then yes. It has only been a bit over an hour since then.
Khellek definitely knows that, while rust monsters prefer iron and ferrous alloys, they can also consume mithral, adamantine, gold, platinum, and any other kind of metal. Stormy detects the aura of a magical item somewhere among the statues at the far end of the room (and at the outer edge of her spell's range).
The doors open at Stormy's answer to the riddle. Another tremor shakes the cavern. Shining columns, exquisite statuary, and elaborate dioramas of battle scenes adorn this majestic hall. The figures stand in small niches in the walls and range from dwarven infantry to mounted cavalry riding all manner of beasts. Gold filigree, metallic plates, and ornate steel inlays decorate every aspect of the grand hall. Pristine marble floors run the chamber’s length, and halfway down the hall, twin flights of stairs sweep up to an elevated walkway. Orbs of magical light rest in sconces along the walls of the chamber, and at its far end a large stone stele is visible.
Doodlevain flies across and ties off a rope. While it is still somewhat tricky to navigate, she helps the entire party get across. A sixty-foot-wide set of doors is built into the solid stone wall. Geometric designs cover much of the doors’ surface, and deep grooves that might have once held metal inlays are now empty. A smaller set of doors better suited to everyday use is built into the larger portal. As you approach the doors, a Magic Mouth speaks. Dwarven: "Ripped from mother Folgrit’s womb, constantly beaten as I’m burning. I become a bloodthirsty killer until my gray hair turns to red with age."
Inghild is able to provide some basic details of the Battle of Nine Stones, over eight thousand years ago, in which the forces of the orc warlord Belkzen overran the fortress city.
Inghild's spirit fades away.
A deep chasm separates a large stone platform (where you are) and whatever might lie beyond. On the far side of the chasm, those with darkvision can see massive drawbridges. On the platform’s floor, an inch-deep depression offers a recess for an unseen bridge to rest. On the eastern edge of the platform there is a small panel of complex but rusty levers and cranks. Khellek finds it trivial to operate the controls to lower the drawbridge, which lands in the depression on your platform. Crossing the lowered drawbridge, you come to an unlocked stone door and open it. Following Inghild's map, you make your way through the tunnels for another hour. Expertly crafted statuary, marvels of engineering, and unparalleled stonework appear time and again throughout the Sky Citadel, and in several places bridges cross large caverns at multiple levels overlooking structures on the caverns’ floors. Because of the recent earthquakes, however, much of the stonework shows damage, and debris litters the once-proud avenues and causeways. For the most part, there are some minor obstacles (stuck doors, rubble-strewn corridors), but nothing you cannot handle. However, a more significant obstacle presents itself. A twisted bridge that once must have been an engineering wonder now slants precariously over a vast chasm. Thirty-feet wide and supported by immense stone columns, the bridge extends into darkness. However, forty feet along its length, a section of the bridge has collapsed onto the chasm’s unseen floor. After a ten-foot gap, another section of the causeway slants dangerously against its stone support; beyond it lies an even longer gap before the bridge resumes, not far from a stone landing. Crossing the first gap might not be terribly hard - it is only about 10 feet (so DC 10 Acrobatics with a running start) - but it may be tricky to ensure a safe landing on the tilted section in the middle without sliding off (a second Acrobatics check). The second gap would be a more difficult jump. How do you proceed?
Dwarven:
"I am Inghild. Custodian of this site. I serve Kols the Oath-Keeper, and it was my body you found in the secret passage.
This site was overrun by the innumerable orc hordes; I sealed this part of the complex to prevent their defiling it. It is my purpose to welcome back whomever reclaims Koldukar from the orcs. I hope that you will be successful. The doors will open when we have concluded our conversation." The spirit motions to the map. She traces a glowing blue line indicating the route to the stele.
As Khellek strikes the third time, a cerulean fog seeps into the area down below. It coalesces into a spectral map of the dwarven fortress city of Koldukar. Accompanying this mist is a spectral female dwarf. She smiles as she sees you and begins speaking in archaic Dwarven.
Dwarven: "Welcome. Friends of Koldukar have not visited this chamber for many ages. You have found the hammers I hid and struck them true, so I am here to guide your way. What is it that you seek?"
Everyone has had more than 24 hours to post since Doodle's request. Time to make a decision and move this on. ---- We have about 5 weeks left in this, and there was a post in Flaxseed Lodge reminding me to do boon rolls. Everybody can roll, including the GM. A 19 or 20 wins, and if you win then your roll 1d3 for the boon (and PM me your email address).
|